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The Web Planet (TV story)
The Web Planet 'is the fifth serial of the second season of ''Doctor Who. ''It was written by Bill Strutton, directed by Richard Martin and featured William Hartnell as the First Doctor, William Russell as Ian Chesterton, Jacqueline Hill as Barbara Wright and Maureen O'Brien as Vicki Pallister. Overview ''To be added Synopsis A mysterious force pulls the TARDIS off-course, stranding the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicki on the mysterious alien world of Vortis. A fierce battle is raging between the moth-like Menoptra and giant insects known as the Zarbi. But what is the dark secret that hides at the centre of the Zarbi's lair? Plot The Web Planet (1) The TARDIS makes a forced landing on barren, a web-strewn planet; looking at the scanner, the Doctor ponders over getting negative readings off the console. He ponders on what kind of force dragged the ship off course and whether or not it's natural or not. While he checks the readings, Vicki starts to experience an ultrasonic sound that causes her pain, as giant, ant-like creatures surround the outside of the TARDIS. The Doctor tries to take off but is unsuccessful as the creatures, accompanied by two smaller bodies, attack the ship, causing it to rock around and throw the travellers to and fro across the control room. Barbara spots something move on the scanner but neither Ian nor the Doctor see it. She tends to Vicki, who collapsed on the floor during the shaking and brings her to her bed. Unable to discern the problem, the Doctor and Ian plan to venture outside to try and find it themselves, while Barbara stays to look after Vicki. With no power to the ship, the Doctor jury rigs a rudimentary system of opening the doors and, donning a pair on atmospheric density jackets, the two go out to investigate. With little else to do, Barbara and Vicki talk about schooling in Vicki's time and their time in Rome. Outside, the Doctor and Ian examine a piece of silicate; Ian goes to touch it with his gold pen when it vanishes from his hand. The Doctor only gets more excited by this and rushes off further from the TARDIS and Ian follows. While Barbara dusts and cleans the TARDIS control room, the gold bracelet on her arm starts leading her towards the door, before the force suddenly ceases. She tells Vicki about this, but she just laughs, making Barbara even more nervous. Searching around, the Doctor and Ian come across a pyramid atop a tall mountain of obvious manufacture. Ian finds a small pool and assumes it to be water, but the Doctor finds it to be acidic with his tie before Ian touches it. While Ian complains about his tie, they hear the same warbling noise they'd heard in the TARDIS earlier. Barbara and Vicki also hear it inside the ship; suddenly the doors open and the bracelet on Barbara's arm drags her toward the door. She tries to resist it but soon appears to become mesmerised and subconsciously walks outside, the doors closing behind her. Vicki wakes up and looks for Barbara in the control room but finds the door open and she calls out for her. The Doctor and Ian hear her cries and rush back to the ship, but Ian is ensnared in a large net and he tells the Doctor to hurry back without him. Elsewhere, Barbara continues to walk, mesmerised, towards the pool of acid. The TARDIS shakes again and Vicki falls against the console, causing it to take off when she tries to work the doors. The Doctor returns to where the ship was and is devastated to find it gone. The Zarbi (2) Still entranced, Barbara is led around the pool of acid by the warbling around her. The Doctor returns to find Ian lying unconscious; waking him, he tells him that the TARDIS has vanished. Barbara continues to wander around, being followed by a large butterfly-like alien. The men remove their jackets to acclimatise to the atmosphere, spotting a trail in the dirt made by the ship being dragged away. The ant-like Zarbi take the TARDIS further and further away with Vicki still inside, when she finally sees one on the scanner. The creature following Barbara manages to catch up with her and brings her to others. They remove the bracelet from her arm and toss it into an acid pool, breaking her trance. She is quickly alarmed by the locals inhabitants who don't let her leave. Elsewhere, the Doctor and Ian follow the trail of the TARDIS. The Doctor finds claw marks heading in the direction of the trail when Ian finds the hollow chrysalis of a large insect; the Doctor concludes from these hints that they are on a planetoid close to the planet Vortis. While the Zarbi push the TARDIS through one enclave after another with Vicki still in it, Barbara explains their predicament to the Menoptra. One of the group, Hrhoonda, instantly distrusts Barbara and thinks she should be put to death, but the second-in-command, Hrostar stops her. While the leader Vrestin and discuss the matter, Barbara knocks Hrostar over and escapes. The Doctor and Ian find a cliff face overlook the chasm where the TARDIS was dragged when they are suddenly surrounded by masses of Zarbi that lead them away. In the ship, Vicki notices the movement having stopped and the creatures having gone from the scanner when the doors suddenly open by themselves and she goes outside to look for the others. She wanders into a heavily overgrown area where the is cornered by more Zarbi. The larger Zarbi group lead the Doctor and Ian to the same area where they find Vicki being guarded with the TARDIS. One Zarbi tries to walk into the ship but it suffers a sort of mental attack and collapses. The Doctor angrily demands the know the Zarbi's intentions, when they forcibly surround him. Elsewhere, Barbara wanders around on her own when she is also caught by the Zarbi. The Menoptera ultimately decide to use a long range communicator to report to the Menotrapa invasion force, but cannot get through. Vestrin opts to try again outside the cave when Hroonda spots Barbara being escorted by the Zarbi and destroy the communicator crystals. The Zarbi invade the cave; Hroonda is kills and Hrostar is capture whele Vrestin escapes. Hrostar breaks Barbara's conditioning before the Zarbi swarm him and tear off his wings. In the Zarbi's den, the Doctor fails to get through to the Zarbi, who then, on account of a sudden alarm, encase his head in a clear tube and voice speaks to him, demanding to know why he's come. Escape to Danger (3) Ian and Vicki can't hear the Doctor's conversation with the disembodied voice; the Doctor tries to convince it that he and his companions are harmless, but it doesn't believe him and thinks he is or is working with or for the Menoptera as part on invasion force. A ray suspended from the ceiling suddenly fires at the TARDIS, intending to destroy it, but Vicki's interference earlier realigned the fluid link and restored the defences. Outisde, Vestrin tries to get away from the Zarbi, flying from one cliff face to a nearby cavern. The Doctor tries again to get the voice to reveal it's secrets and agenda, but it still remains obtrusive. It claims that the Menoptera are invading the planet and that Barbara has been taken to the 'Crater of Needles', outside of his control. The Doctor agrees to bring his astral map out of the TARDIS and the voice allows he and Ian back inside, but keep Vicki with them. While Ian treats his blistered face, he and the Doctor try and work out a course of action. The Doctor suggests that Ian go and look for Barbara in the Crater of Needles when they bring the astral map outside. He speaks with the voice again and it reluctantly agrees to withdraw some power near the Doctor's instruments so he can find the invaders; this temporarily disables the Zarbi and allows Ian to leave to look for Barbara. While Ian tries to find his way out of the den undetected, the Doctor and Vicki look for the Menoptera on the astral map and overhear their communications. They hear the upcoming invasion is set to land outside the Crater that Ian is heading for. Before Ian can get away, he is caught by a Zarbi guard and trapped inside. A alarm sounds throughout the complex and all the Zarbi rush to investigate; just as they break in, Ian manages to get the door open and escapes. Vicki is placed in a trance as punishment and the Doctor claims to have information of the Menoptera invasion, leaving the voice to discern his truthfulness, while a Zarbi releases Vicki from her trance. On the Doctor's instruction, Vicki grabs a box from the TARDIS with a specimen inside and the Zarbi is frightened of it. Ian find and befriends Vestrin, who tells him that Vortis is actually their planet and that the Zarbi were just simple creatures before they were influenced by the invading force, the Animus. It made the Zarbi militant and aggressive and forced the Zarbi into hiding. They both head off in the direction of the Crater when they are corned by the Zarbi and the pair of them are caught when the ground collapses beneath them. Crater of Needles (4) Ian and Vestrin survive the fall but are then captured by more unseen assailants. In the crater, Barbara and Hrostar are forced to work under the Zarbi. While Hrostar mourns the loss of his wings, he explains that the minerals they are throwing into the acid stream is sent to the centre, where the Animus resides. He also explains that the invasion force to liberate them and the Zarbi is banked on a new machine Menoptera scientists have created. In the den, the Zarbi place Vicki in a trance again when the Animus descends to speak to the Doctor. It threatens Vicki's life for the Doctor's lack of cooperation, so he tells it the Menoptera's location and intended plan and the Zarbi remove Vicki's collar. An alarm goes off, warning the Zarbi of the coming Menoptera; the Zarbi in the crater panic and take the captive Menoptera away. Meanwhile, Ian and Vrestin are interrogated by their captors, the Optera, using barbaric methods. Barbara and the other Menoptera are put in a cell where they wonder how the Zarbi found out about the Menoptera forces. With the communicator crystals destroyed, Barbara opts to escape and warn the invasion force, but must first escape the larvae gun. In the den, the Doctor and Vicki manage to get the golden collar from a guard to examine it. In the crater, Barbara lures the Zarbi away from the larvae gun, giving the Menoptera gun the chance to seize and destroy it, before they head for the plateau. Channeling the TARDIS' power through the astral map to disable the collar. It alerts the Animus who discovers the Doctor's deception and places other collars on both he and Vicki, planning to punish them when the Menoptera invasion has been quashed. Barbara and the Menoptera await the Bridgehead when the Zarbi surround it, convincing Hrostar that the Doctor betrayed them. The Optera are convinced that Ian and Vrestin are invaders to their realm and sentence them to execution when Vrestin manages to dissuade them by telling them of their heritage and the Menoptera's plans to liberate Vortis from the Animus. Hrostar leads Barbara and the others to the top of the plateau where they are joined by the Bridgehead and they warn them of the incoming attack. It's too late to pull out, however, as the Zarbi arrive and both forces commence their attack. With the superior firepower, the Zarbi quickly overpower the Menoptera forces, forcing them to flee. Barbara thries to lead them away when they are cornered by the Zarbi. Invasion (5) The Bridgehead is forced into a chasm where the Zarbi can't follow, managing to get away. In the Carsinome, Vicki, wearing the disabled collar, takes the Doctor's off and then gets Vicki to distract the Zarbi while he places the defective collar on it, bringing it under their control. They then use this to escape the Carsinome and find the others. Barbara is brought by Prapillius the Temple of Light, a series of underground temples laced across Vortis. They are joined by Hlynia and Hillio, who is dubious of Barbara's allegiance, but Hrostar manages to assuage their credulity and convinces them to focus on beating the Animus. He explains that the plan was to attack the centre of the Animus' web with a destructor weapon. The Optera agree to help Ian and Vrestin stop the Animus and they head off to lead them to the centre of the web. Elsewhere, the Doctor and Vicki are brought to the outside of the Carsinome and follow the tracks of the other Zarbi to get to where Ian and Barbara are. The Optera lead Ian and Vrestin to the tunnels, breaking holes in the walls with their weapons for light and air. Barbara and the Menoptera discuss a strategy to distract the Zarbi and get inside the Carsinome. The Doctor and Vicki arrive in the temple with the obedient Zarbi and wonder where Ian has got to. In the tunnels, one of the Optera, Nemini, punctures an acid pool while breaking holes and is killed trying to block it. In spite of this, the leading Optera, Hetra, insists that they proceed. The Doctor agrees with Barbara's plan to get into the Carsinome, but none of the Menoptera know what they would find there. They explain that Animus resides at the centre of the planet and his being there affected the planet's gravity, explaining why the TARDIS was forced to land on Vortis in the first place. The Doctor proposes to proceed with Barbara's plan of a decoy attack while he and Vicki would take the Menoptera's Isotope to the centre of the Carsinome. Despite Hilio's reservations, they agree to the plan, taking the Doctor's ring to use the Zarbi they had brought with them for the decoy. Making their way back to the Carsinome, the Doctor and Vicki are detected by the Zarbi and are instantly cornered by them and their larvae guns. Underneath the Carsinome, Ian, Vrestin and the Optera look for a way to get inside. The Doctor and Vicki are brought to the centre where a larvae gun in the wall encases them in a thick web-like substance, preventing them from moving. The Centre (6) While Vicki manages to break herself free, the Doctor remains frozen; the Animus speaks with him and tells the Zarbi to bring them to the centre. Vicki, however, accidentally leaves the Isotope in the astral map. Outside, the Menoptera send their Zarbi guard inside and bring the other Zarbi out of the Carsinome. They manage to disorient and confuse one, sending it back inside to gather reinforcements. As this happens above, Ian, Vrestin and the Optera find an underground water supply and a means of getting to the surface. Using the control collar, Hrostar tries to capture one of the larvae guns, but is killed; the others press on to the centre. The Doctor and Vicki are brought before the Animus; the light from it's body disables the Doctor and it tries to influence Vicki, but she stubbornly defies it. Barbara and the rebels swarm the control centre and take out the Zarbi guard. As the Animus ensnares the Doctor and Vicki in it's tendrils, it detects the control room's seizure by the rebels. Barbara attempts to use the astral map to contact the Menoptera invasion force on Pictis. Opening the map, she finds the Isotope and figures that the Doctor was captured, so Hilio opts to take it to the centre himself. As Ian, Vrestin and Hetra try to break into the centre from underneath, the rebel party rush past the Zarbi guards at the centre and rush in, only to be immediately disabled by the Animus. While it tries to influence them, Hilio passes the Isotope to Barbara and she manages to kill the Animus with it, just as Ian arrives inside. The Animus' death immediately breaks it's hold over the Zarbi, who return to being non-hostile. At the same time, the water reservoir from underground surfaces, to Vicki and Barbara's surprise. Vrestin brings the Optera to the surface to help them acclimatise to the light and agrees to help them adapt to life above ground. Hilio returns the Doctor's ring to him while Ian watches the Optera get used to the light. While the Menoptera attend to their business, the travellers depart in the TARDIS. While they are surprised, the Menoptera decree that their liberation at the hands of the travellers would be remembered for all time on Vortis and prepare to await the arrival of the rest of their people. Cast * Dr. Who - William Hartnell * Ian Chesterton - William Russell * Barbara Wright - Jacqueline Hill * Vicki - Maureen O'Brien * Zarbi operators / The Zarbi - Robert Jewell, Jack Pitt, Gerald Taylor, Hugh Lund, Kevin Manser, John Scott Martin * Animus Voice - Catherine Fleming The Menoptra * Vrestin - Roslyn De Winter * Hrostar - Arne Gordon * Hrhoonda - Arthur Blake * Prapillus - Jolyon Booth * Hlynia - Jocelyn Birdsall * Hilio - Martin Jarvis The Optera * Hetra - Ian Thompson * Nemini - Barbara Joss Crew * Writer - Bill Strutton * Director - Richard Martin * Producer - Verity Lambert * Script Editor - Dennis Spooner * Designer - John Wood * Costumes - Daphne Dare * Film Cameraman - Peter Hamilton * Film Editor - Gitta Zadek * Insect Movement - Roslyn De Winter * Make-Up - Sonia Markham * Lighting - Ralph Walton * Sound - Ray Angel * Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire * Title Music - Ron Grainer References To be added Story notes To be added Broadcast & Ratings Continuity To be added Home video and audio releases To be added External Links * Official ''The Web Planet'' page on '''Doctor Who Website